California Sunshine
by element90
Summary: Glimpses of life.
1. Chapter 1

"Your political ideologies are nothing more than empty fears and exaggerated paranoia."

Phil grunted and tossed the remainder of his lunch into a nearby waste bin. "I suppose those dissenting of Adolf Hitler's policies were foolish to be scared and distrusting?"

Via rolled her eyes. "Here comes the Third Reich outcry again."

"Based rightly so on historical fact. Come on, Via, you can't deny the similarities."

She batted away strands of dark hair that had fallen over her shoulder while she gathered her belongings from the bench. "Phil, just because…"

"What?" he inquired upon seeing her expression of disbelief.

"Look…"

Phil turned to see what had captured her attention and nearly knocked over a freshman and collided with a large oak's trunk as he sprinted across the courtyard.

"Keely!"

Brilliantly smiling but also bracing for the hit, Keely ducked away from the small group of clamoring females and opened her arms to receive the blur racing towards her.

Luckily Phil skidded to a slightly slower pace to decrease the force of impact but still eagerly and excitedly barreled into the girl, wrapping her up tightly in his embrace, lifting her off the ground despite her small height advantage.

She closed her eyes and returned the hug, burying her face into his neck and soaking up every last drop of their reunion.

"You're back early…" he breathed.

She replied with a light chuckle, "Couldn't take the rain and fog anymore."

Letting go, she held him at arm's length and glanced around at the faces watching them, some amused and others bored.

Phil waved them off. "I can't even begin to tell you how much I missed you, Keel."

"Same here." She shrugged out of her heavier than necessary jacket and smiled. "Guess it became a habit."

"California's sunshine will break it for you."

The bell rang and as students began filing back into the building for the second half of the day, Keely waved happily to Via before the dark-haired girl disappeared through the double doors.

"Guess I better get to the office."

"The bridge?"

Keely nodded quickly and flashed him a wide grin, then headed towards the main entrance while Phil watched her for a few moments before jogging back to the picnic table to retrieve his things.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The coffee grew colder. He closed the menu drawer and sighed heavily.

Traffic noises continued from the busy small town, making the quiet murmurs from the scant crowd overwhelmingly unbearable. Grabbing his brown coat from the rack, he hastily made his way to the back door, stuffing a card into his wallet, but paused when his sight caught that of an old photo that had fallen to the floor.

Smiling faces of his parents stared back; even his little sister managed a small upward curve of her lips for the camera. He looked at the grinning teenage boy, eyes bright and carefree. The backdrop of the towering waterfall, rocky cliffs, and rows of tall evergreens perfectly framed the family.

The happy face of his younger self soon forced him to look away.

Phil restored the photo to its spot inside his wallet, slipped into his coat, and slammed the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Thunder rumbled as the thickening clouds inched closer from the western horizon. A few sprinkles dotted the surface of the bridge.

"That California sunshine will do _what_, Phil?" she laughed from underneath her blue hoodie.

He nudged her side and perched himself upon the cement railing, pulling his own hood over his spiky hair.

"Still can't believe you cut it."

He shrugged, watching the water far below rolling over the jagged stones and smooth boulders.

Keely leaned her back against the railing and sighed quietly. A faint flash of lighting shone against the darkening late afternoon sky. Long moments passed. She closed her eyes and lowered her chin.

"Phil…"

Her voice sounded lost and confused. He watched and waited for her to continue, but she didn't. She instead walked across the road to the other side of the bridge and stood there silently still.

Phil frowned, stared at his palms for a few seconds then dropped to his feet. Keely turned to him at the sound of his shoes striking the pavement. She shrugged and shook her head.

"What is it?" he asked gently.

She looked past him at the approaching storm front, the leading clouds swirling like a breaking wave. "I feel older…"

Phil almost laughed despite the sorrowful color in her eyes. Keely flicked her gaze back to him and offered a small hint of a smile.

"I spent my birthday with a bunch of…well, strangers really…in a moss and ivy covered house. A couple girls baked me a cake. It had little pink frosted flowers on it, coconut icing, and a peanut butter center."

"Yuck…" Phil moved next to her side and leaned in close.

"They even had presents. One girl, Tavara, she was from South Africa and made me a wooden charm bracelet, a design passed down from her grandmother's tribe."

Phil nodded and the thunder sounded deeper and closer now. Keely jumped a bit and Phil shivered when a gust of cool air swept up from the river.

"I imagined you would have more stories to tell…enthusiastically so…"

Keely avoided his eyes and ran her hand along the rough cement, casting a few tiny fragments of rocks into the shadowy waters.

"Guess I'm just tired. Late flight…" She winced and moved to stand in front of him. "Not really interested in watching another rain storm."

With a soft laugh, Phil pushed himself away from the railing as she began to walk off the bridge.

"In the future…Ireland is different…"

She smiled, the thunder rumbled, and the rain began to fall.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"And that's my advice to you, little man."

A roar of laughter filled the cozy room. Owen frowned and shielded the baby's ears.

"Don't listen to 'em, little dude, they're all too junked up on eggnog right now…or in your momma's case…" he whispered to the little face watching him intently and lightly kicking his green overall-clad legs, "…spiked peppermint cocoa."

Keely narrowed her eyes at him over the rim of her steaming mug. Owen grinned and returned his attention to the tiny bubbles of drool being squeezed out from between two perfect pink lips.

"Can I have my son back now?"

Owen swatted his best friend's hand away.

Making her way to the kitchen, Via shook her head at Phil. "I believe you're too late. They seem to have bonded."

"Nah, kid just knows he's the most likely to get wrapped around his little finger."

"Already there, Philharmonic."

Owen gently bounced the baby boy as he made his way to the kitchen following Via, leaving Phil and Keely alone in the quiet room, strings of light twinkling and candle flames glowing. Keely stared at the wall, watching the light play off a plate decorated with gingerbread men and gumdrops that Via had given to Owen earlier in the evening, knowing how well he delighted in the more childish fantasies of the season.

"Want more cocoa?"

She shook her head without turning to look at him. Phil sighed and settled against the bulky sofa cushions.

"We won't make it if you don't talk to me," he whispered.

Keely nodded slowly and shut her eyes, resisting the urge to cry.


	3. Chapter 3

"When I was a kid, I would paint all kinds of utopias and try to use my sheer will to bring them to life."

A smile slowly spread across Phil's face. "…Freak."

Elizabeth slapped the back of his hand that was resting comfortably atop her thigh. "Juvenile jerk," she muttered, trying to hide her amusement.

"Here's the book you needed for your citations."

A thin red hardcover dropped onto the table between them. Phil looked up at the person who had deposited the book and she flashed him a quick smile.

"Thanks, Keely," Elizabeth replied, "I'll be done with it after tonight, so if you need it again…"

"I'm finished. Go ahead and return it when you're ready."

"See you tonight?" Phil called after her.

"Tonight," Keely replied and exited the library study room with a light skip in her step.

"What's tonight?"

Phil laughed. "Just a thing."

"Uh, like what kind of thing?" Elizabeth crammed some papers into her bag and zipped it up swiftly.

"It's…" Phil shrugged and jotted down a few notes from one of the dozens of open books on the table.

"Careful, Phil, I might start to get jealous here…" she joked.

He chuckled and flipped through some pages. "After she came back from Ireland, we sorta began a tradition of going to a special place to watch the storms move in."

Elizabeth raised her slender eyebrow.

"Her first night back, we went to this bridge that's not used anymore, a place we've always gone to, and a storm was coming and earlier she had said that…" he trailed off and laughed to himself while Elizabeth stared blankly.

After a beat, he closed a few books and sighed. "I barely recall the time I actually liked doing research."

Elizabeth hummed flatly. "…Freak."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Phil?"

He hadn't heard her voice in a long time, but he never hesitated to recognize it.

"Hey…"

"Look at you all sharply dressed…" Elizabeth commented with a warm smile.

"Interview," he chuckled, "Trying to snag a host position in one of those upscale restaurants."

"With cloth napkins?"

"I've got some pretty lofty goals, huh?"

Elizabeth let out a friendly laugh and touched his shoulder briefly. "It's good to see you, Phil. It's been forever, it seems."

"I thought New York was permanent…"

She shook her head. "Only until I realized the mistake I'd made by leaving home."

"Leaving home...." Phil said quietly. "Mind if I ask what happened?"

"Nothing happened. That was the problem." She waved in a vague gesture. "Not going would've saved me a lot of money and hardship."

"But you gained that useful thing, right? Experience or something like that?" He smirked a little and Elizabeth couldn't help but embrace him.

He easily accepted the hug and reciprocated it, feeling calm and happy for the first time in a long while.

"I heard about Owen…" she whispered, giving him an extra squeeze. "I'm so sorry."

Closing his eyes tightly against the suddenly harsh California sunshine, Phil tightened his arms around Elizabeth and held her as if holding on for his very life.

* * *

Note: Probably should have mentioned sooner that this ties in with another story of mine. But I do hate giving away information.


	4. Chapter 4

"I fell in love."

Phil's arm immediately froze in mid-motion. He dropped the small stone he was about to heave over the bridge's side and turned to Keely with his mouth hanging open slightly.

"I didn't really believe it myself at first," she sighed.

Shaking his head, Phil stammered incoherently.

"In Ireland."

"You were seeing someone?"

She nodded and stretched out her legs, hugging her body to protect against the light chill in the evening air. The sprinkle had some time ago turned into a mist so she pushed back the hood on her thin shirt but didn't remove it.

"He was in my group. We studied together."

Phil shifted his weight to lean heavily against the railing. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"…It hurt." She shook her head. "Or maybe it just didn't matter. I don't know."

"Falling in love sounds pretty important, Keel," he said softly but unsteadily.

She coughed a bitter laugh and shivered. "Not when you're blind, deaf, and dumb to all the person does."

Shedding his coat, Phil placed it around Keely's shoulders and covered her hand with his.

"I couldn't stand the sight of him. I had to get out of there."

He pressed his lips together in a hard line, a heat rising in his blood to think that someone Keely loved so much had betrayed her and left her with a pain she didn't feel she could speak of until now.

"How stupid is that? Letting some guy control me that way…" she balled her free hand into a fist. "I had two months left and I just quit! Like he meant more than pursuing something I've dreamed of for years."

Most of her anger faded only to be replaced with a hollow sadness.

"I messed up, Phil…" she confessed achingly, her eyes clouded by regret and shame.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"I haven't heard you squeal with glee like that since junior high," he laughed as he set the plastic shopping sacks on the counter top.

She returned his bright smile and scooped up the little boy, holding him against her hip while she grabbed a gallon of milk.

"He's just learning so much so quickly, Phil! It's something new all the time," she beamed with a prideful light only shown on a mother's face.

"I got this, Keel…" Phil shook his head at his wife as she attempted to balance the milk jug and their son. "Take a hike," he insisted with a grin.

She swatted his arm but flashed him a thankful smile.

"What'd ya do today, big guy, huh?" Phil asked in a soft, playful tone while giving his son's belly a tickle on his way to the pantry with a sack of groceries.

The baby boy emitted a high-pitched happy response as his eyes followed his father's every move, waving his tiny chubby arms in the air as if to explain better.

"He's getting pretty good at stacking blocks. I wanted to save the tower for you to see, but then he discovered demolition," Keely said with a chuckle.

Phil finished putting things away and paused at his family's side to give them each a kiss, his lips lingering on Keely's for a few extra moments. Their son stared at them with a curious expression, and then sneezed, causing his entire frame to shake and his parents to separate.

With a laugh and a quick peck on Keely's cheek, Phil lifted his son to give him a gentle hug. "Bless you…" he whispered.

"I'm gonna take a hot bath…" Keely said as she walked from the kitchen. "I won't be too long."

"Take your time, Keel," Phil replied warmly, nuzzling his son's neck. "We'll be fine."

She looked at the pair for a long moment, then smiled to herself and padded down the hallway lit by filtered streams of California sunshine.


	5. Chapter 5

"It wouldn't have lasted anyway, I mean, chances are I'll be outta this century soon."

Keely sighed and took a bite of her tuna sandwich. Phil yawned, giving his arms a good stretch.

"Did you love her?" she asked tentatively.

He chewed on his lip and glanced around the busy courtyard. "I cared about her a lot…"

Keely stared at the last corn chip on her tray for a few seconds then giggled, "Well according to Owen, it's only love when you can't eat Frosty Fruity Fun O's anymore without feeling guilty."

They shared a laugh and then sat quietly for a long time, just enjoying the company and watching the other students scatter as the bell rang. Phil glanced sideways to catch her gaze and motioned for them to exit the campus. Keely agreed with a small smile and sighed contentedly when Phil's fingers unexpectedly intertwined with hers.

"Think she'll like Laguna Beach?"

Phil stared at the horizon, the dark clouds beginning to group together. "Deep, stimulating conversations in So Cal dialect….what's not to like?"

Keely responded with a giggle and sighed softly as the warmth from his palm spread throughout her body.

"Where's Owen from again?"

"Keel…"

She laughed, he smiled, and the thunder rumbled faintly in the distance.

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"Beeeep, beeeep, beeeep, beeeep!"

Evan backed up the hefty toy dump truck to a pile of mud and wet sand.

Phil cleared free a spot of earth from dead leaves and medium sized chunks of gravel and took a seat; leaning against the base of the old bridge and watching the blond-haired boy play under the rays of radiant sunshine.

The truck had definitely seen better days, but being his son's favorite toy, it had clocked several hours at the water's edge, loading, hauling, and unloading mounds of materials. A few dents and dings were to be expected despite Evan's careful treatment.

Phil immediately readied himself to spring to action at the sight of his son's sneaker losing its grip on the bank's side and causing him to slide down the muddy slope closer to the water, but Evan's boyish grin put him at ease.

"For your safety I hope those clothes are for play," Via said, taking a seat on the rocks a few inches up the bank from Phil.

He hung his head and sighed. "I knew I was forgetting something."

"Perhaps it won't be a problem, after all Keely _does_ love to shop," Via offered.

Phil's brow furrowed deeply. "A trip for Evan somehow ends up with Keely walking through the front door with a bag from The Kid's Krib in one hand and three or four bags from Sash in the other."

Via smiled and watched Evan abandon his truck to gather clumps of mud. The toy's primary colors stood out in stark contrast against the muted surroundings. Via inhaled a slow breath.

"We spent nearly two hours looking for a gift…," she began slowly, "coming across dozens of toys any baby would have enjoyed; rattles, stuffed animals, teething rings…"

She turned back to Phil, who was watching her with sad eyes.

"But from the moment he spotted it, he insisted on purchasing that truck…even though I tried to argue that a newborn should receive something more age appropriate," she finished with a slight curve of her lips.

"He did have a unique way of going about things, didn't he?" Phil replied in a light tone.

Via nodded but closed her eyes briefly, her fingers trembling slightly. Phil looked away, giving her some privacy.

Evan's laughter drifted through the still air, drawing Phil's attention to the water where his son was busy stomping heaps of mud, dark brown splatters covering the sandy ground in his wake.

Images of a younger Evan filled his mind, blond hair shining like heaven's light in the California sunshine, jumping onto mounds of earth built by tiny hands, wiping out alien spaceships and conquering the universe.


	6. Chapter 6

"Dude!"

Owen's head snapped up from its position on the kitchen table. "I think my stomach just ate my spleen."

Via barely managed to keep a straight face as she made her way to take a peek through the curtains into his backyard.

"Can I have a just a nibble of bread? Maybe a teeny lick of the casserole?"

Uttering under her breath a sound of disgust, Via approached the table again. "Feel free to fill your plate before everything gets cold...colder…" she said flatly as she took a seat next to him.

"Think they're breakin' up?" Owen mumbled around a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

Via rolled her eyes and spooned out a helping to her own plate.

Outside under the deep hues of an evening sky, Phil and Keely stood face to face just inside the wooden gate. His jaw was set and his chest heaved with the pace of his breathing. Keely stared at him in a mild shock. The summer twilight buzzed softly around them as the seconds continued to tick away.

Finally, Keely cleared her dry throat, causing Phil to twitch nervously.

"What…what did you ask me?" she creaked.

Phil swallowed three times rapidly, nearly choking on his own breath and saliva. "I…well…I…you know…it's just a suggestion."

A short but loud bark of laughter erupted from Keely before she clamped her mouth shut with a slightly sweaty palm. Phil grimaced partly from the volume of her laughter piercing the quiet night but mostly from complete embarrassment.

"Okay…that's obviously not what I meant to say."

"And I didn't mean to laugh at you," Keely mumbled from behind her hand.

"I asked for it," Phil conceded with a tiny shrug.

Keely smiled and her body relaxed.

"Is it really just a suggestion?"

He shook his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Will you?" he asked again.

A loud clanging of tin metal invaded the moment as a large form suddenly sprang from the side of the house following a smaller form leaping into the air. Trash bins rolled on the ground spilling their contents, a flower pot with a single dried weed inside fell from its position, and an unknown material crunched loudly underneath four pounding paws.

Phil and Keely watched as the intruders disappeared around the other side of the house and the backyard became quiet once again.

"So…we're getting married?" Phil asked after a beat.

Keely threw her arms around his neck, locking her lips onto his.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Phil left work early, deciding to head to the park. He wasn't surprised to see Elizabeth waving at him from the bottom of the slide, poised there to catch the twin toddler girls ready to take the plunge. Shawn and Sadie loved the park, and their mother tried to bring them as often as possible.

He smiled back and made his way over.

"Hi!" Shawn, the more outgoing of the two, called.

Her black curls bounced as she scooted off the end of the slide and ran to him with her little arms open as wide as they could go. Phil scooped her up, lifting her high into the air, then swinging her around back to the ground. Shawn giggled and teetered from one foot to the other trying to regain her balance.

Phil bent lower and waved at Sadie, who was clinging to her mother's side. She smiled shyly and hid her face.

"Is it 5 o'clock already?" Elizabeth asked with a smirk.

Phil smiled. "How're the kiddos?"

"They're doing fine. Shawn, as you can see," she said, pointing in the direction of the small jungle gym, "has overcome her fear."

"Climbing all the way to the top now…" Phil shook his head. "Makes you nervous, doesn't it?"

"Of course!" Elizabeth laughed.

Phil smiled to himself, remembering a little blond-haired boy making him feel the same. His eyes filled with tears. With a sniff and a run of his hand over his hair, he managed to clear the pain for the moment.

Elizabeth pressed the girl wrapped around her leg a little closer and glanced away.

Sadie whispered to her mother and scurried off to join her sister, opting to play in the sand at the base rather than take on the climb. Shawn taunted her from above, and Sadie threw a handful of sand in response.

"They torture each other, but are still so protective."

Phil nodded.

Elizabeth shifted nearer to him. "Like you and Pim…" she said with a light chuckle.

"People always said we would've killed each other had we not been brother and sister," he laughed with a shrug.

"Do you think you'll see them again?" Elizabeth questioned quietly.

"…I wish I could," he replied in a whisper.

"There's always hope the restrictions could be lifted…?"

Phil nodded.

A single cloud covered the sun, casting a shadow over the playground. More children had gathered in the park and their laughter and voices were carried by the light breeze.

"Will you leave if that happens?"

Watching the twins with a smile as they bickered, Phil shook his head. "I think I was always meant to be here…"

Looking around the park, his mind saw a two-year-old Evan running towards the jungle gym, his makeshift cape flowing behind him. He saw the California sunshine gleaming off his blond hair and the mischievous glint in his dark brown eyes. He remembered Keely sitting on the bench beside him, his arm around her shoulders and her hand upon his cheek. He still heard her laughter and saw the warm love in her eyes as she watched their son.

The family he had made here was taken from him in an instant, in a twisted mess of metal and glass. The ache from the great loss hadn't healed much over time.

"Since you can't paint me a utopia and will it into reality…" He turned to Elizabeth with a lone tear on his cheek. "I'd rather be here without them than in a time when they didn't even exist."

Elizabeth had felt a sob rise in her throat, but she cleared it away.

Phil wiped the corner of his eyes with his sleeve. "Give the kiddos a hug for me and keep an eye to the sky."

She nodded and squeezed his hand briefly. He left the park without another word.

A shelf of clouds piled higher on the horizon, their bases growing gray with the weight of water. Phil slipped into the seat of his car and pulled onto the road, heading to an old bridge.

He cried quietly, his tears glistening under thin rays of California sunshine.


End file.
